BGN Hires EO for Rp113 Billion, MBG Head Speaks Out

The National Nutrition Agency (BGN) has drawn attention for using Rp113.9 billion in funds to hire event organiser (EO) services for implementing activities throughout 2025. BGN Head Dadan Hindayana assured that the use of EOs in various events is part of BGN’s professionalism in building a quality operational system and governance to successfully execute the Free Nutritious Meals Programme (MBG). Dadan stated that as a newly established institution tasked with running a national strategic programme, BGN needs to build systems, organisational structures, and operational governance in its initial phase. “In this stage, BGN does not yet have fully ready internal resources to handle all large-scale activity needs independently,” said BGN Head Dadan Hindayana in an official statement confirmed in Jakarta on Monday (13/4). According to him, organising large-scale and complex events, public campaigns, and national socialisation requires support from professional parties. EOs, Dadan continued, possess expertise that BGN does not yet fully have at present. “The use of EO services in this context is a strategic step to ensure activities run professionally, standardised, and on time. EOs have special expertise in event management, from planning, vendor coordination, field technical management, to operational risk mitigation. These require experience and a solid team that realistically BGN does not yet fully possess in its early formation phase,” said Dadan. Dadan added that using EOs is also seen as supporting more orderly administrative and financial governance. By involving third parties, he said, the procurement process for goods and services, vendor payments, and activity reporting can be done centrally and systematically. “This actually facilitates the audit process, supervision, and accountability of state budget use, as all activity components are documented systematically,” he stated. Dadan also explained that BGN activities handled by EOs are not merely ceremonial events, but part of public communication strategies related to national nutrition issues and other strategic activities, such as technical guidance (bimtek) for food handlers to ensure food safety is managed by trained human resources. “Therefore, the quality of organisation is crucial. EOs play a role in ensuring that the government’s intended messages are packaged effectively, attractively, and with broad impact, so that programme objectives can be achieved optimally as well as the management of trained human resources in their field,” said Dadan. From an efficiency perspective, according to him, using EOs is more rational than building an internal team in a short time. The process of building internal capacity requires time, training costs, and recruitment that is not instantaneous, while the programme must run immediately. “Meanwhile, the programme implementation needs must run immediately. EOs serve as a bridging solution so that the programme can still be executed without sacrificing quality and time,” said Dadan. Dadan emphasised that BGN remains committed to upholding principles of transparency and accountability in every budget use. “Every expenditure, including the use of EO services, is carried out through mechanisms in accordance with applicable laws and regulations, and is open to supervision by internal or external oversight bodies,” said BGN Head Dadan Hindayana.